BAY CITY, MI -- Give them a ball and get them in the game, and the Sparta and Grand Blanc unified basketball teams will win you over.

The message of their play is far too powerful to be missed.

"We played an exhibition game before one of our varsity games this year," Grand Blanc unified coach Renee Wyman said. "Before they went on the court, the whole varsity team walked across the gym and high-fived our kids. They said they couldn't believe how cool it was to watch us play."

The two squads are among the Michigan representatives venturing to Toronto this week for the Special Olympics Ontario Invitational Youth Games, where they join more than 2,500 student-athletes from across the globe in the unique competition May 14-17.

The first-time event features traditional Special Olympics games along with unified sports, which pair athletes with intellectual disabilities and athletes without on a single team. Unified competitions are set for 3-on-3 basketball, bocce ball and track and field at the Ontario Games.

And the Sparta and Grand Blanc squads are ready to rock.

Sparta's Jimmy Wolfe displays his new warmup suit for the Ontario Games. (Courtesy)